Skip to content

November 7, 1984

Report by Agent 'Gerard' on Paris-Based Polish Bookstore and Activities of CIA-Funded International Literacy Center

SUMMARY OF DOCUMENTATION IN PARIS-BASED POLISH BOOKSTORE PROVIDED BY AGENT “GERARD” ON NOVEMBER 7, 1984

 

Top Secret.  Copy 1.
Information Report
(provided by “Gerard” on November 7, 1984)

 

Based on access to the documents of the Polish bookstore in Paris we have uncovered one of the New York-based International Literary Center’s activities in anti-communist indoctrination, relating to the distribution of anti-socialist literature.

 

It was established that in the first half of 1984, excluding May, the Paris-based Polish bookstore distributed 1267 copies of hostile literature to Polish visitors in France free of charge. The total expenditure was 145.894 French francs. According to lists of names, individual recipients were as follows:

 

engineers – 26

architects – 6

intellectuals – 24

students – 15

economists – 7

historians – 4

journalists – 2

actors – 4

sociologists – 5

lawyers – 3

teachers – 8

priests – 6

scientists – 3

musicians – 3

physicians – 4

art conservators – 3

others – 65

pensioners – 12

 

Furthermore, there were group recipients: student-athletes from Warsaw (14 people), a delegation to the International Youth Catholics Convention (62 people), the Szczecin Technical University Choir, a school trip  of 16 people  from Kartuzy under the supervision of teacher Dankowska.

 

In the first days of each month, lists of names, including addresses and occupations, titles of books and their prices, are mailed to the International Literary Center, which reimburses by check the Bookstore’s expenditures by the tenth of each month.

 

It was also established that ILC orders are taken by the Polish bookstore in London run by Jerzy Kulczycki and the recently opened Polish bookstore in Vienna managed by Zofia Milewicz-Reinbacher. According to our intelligence, confirmed by the fraternal Czechoslovak secret service, the International Literary Center is a unit of the USA intelligence service.

Report by a Polish intelligence agent on the International Literary Center (ILC) in Paris which lists the types of Polish people who were given anti-Communist books at the store (number of engineers, architects, intellectuals, etc.)

Author(s):



Document Information

Source

Archive of the Institute of National Remembrance, Warsaw, Poland, collection number: IPN BU 0449/32/5 cz. 2

Rights

The History and Public Policy Program welcomes reuse of Digital Archive materials for research and educational purposes. Some documents may be subject to copyright, which is retained by the rights holders in accordance with US and international copyright laws. When possible, rights holders have been contacted for permission to reproduce their materials.

To enquire about this document's rights status or request permission for commercial use, please contact the History and Public Policy Program at [email protected].

Original Uploaded Date

2015-03-02

Type

Report

Language

Record ID

121672